


Coincidence? Maybe.

by RoseWilliams15



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Clexa, F/F, Lexa works at a diner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-10 04:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6939592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseWilliams15/pseuds/RoseWilliams15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke stood looking at her reflection in the glass window of Arkadia, an old school Italian restaurant, complete with checkered table cloths and candles in the center of every table. Her hair hung around her face in loose ringlets that landed just past her shoulders and covered the back of her red dress, which was the product of her after school trip to Goodwill. </p><p>She had spent the entire day worried that she wouldn't be able to find the perfect outfit, but all of her fears had been quenched the second that she stepped through the automatic sliding doors of the store. The dress had been on display and was the first thing that she had seen, and by some seemingly impossible coincidence, it was her size and fell well within her miniscule budget. </p><p>Another reflection appeared in the window and Clarke turned to see her date approaching and fidgeting with    her longsleeve clad forearm. She stopped as soon as she saw that Clarke was watching her. “H-hey Clarke.” She said, her nerves causing her voice to waver.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coincidence? Maybe.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time writing anything Clexa, so please be gentle. Enjoy!

Lexa yawned and checked her watch. She’d already been at the diner for three hours and had drank her way through an entire pot of coffee. She wasn’t used to working the morning shift, but she found herself enjoying the energy of the early crowd. The patrons were respectful and seemed to be happier than the ones that she usually encountered during her regular hours. As tough as it had been to roll out of bed at three-thirty that morning, she knew that the events of that night would surely make up for her sleep deprivation. 

A small dinging sound drew Lexa out of her thoughts and caused her to stop fiddling with the thick bandage that was wrapped around her left forearm and barely visible under the sleeve of her sweatshirt. An old man slowly approached the cash register, eyeing the menu above it carefully. He wore a faded black polo shirt and grey slacks. There was a smile on his face, but it was betrayed by the sad look in his eyes. It was a look that Lexa knew all too well, one that spoke of past, and possibly present, hardships. 

After another few seconds of deliberation, the man stepped forward and placed his order: two egg and cheese sandwiches, one black coffee and one hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. The total came to $11.50. When the old man went to reach for his wallet, Lexa stopped him before pulling out her own. “This one’s on me.” 

The old man looked at Lexa in awe. It had been years since anyone had done something nice for him. In his experience, it was usually the other side around. On instinct, he offered his hand to Lexa, and the two shared a firm handshake. “Thank you…?”

“Lexa, Lexa Woods.”

The old man reached for the food that had been placed in front of Lexa during the exchange.

“You have no idea how much I appreciate this, Lexa. I wish more people had kind hearts like you. Have a good day.” 

Lexa nodded in response and watched the old man leave, noticing a pep in his step that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago. 

“Lexa, you better get moving or you’re gonna be late!” A woman yelled from the kitchen. Lexa checked her watch and her eyes flew open wide in surprise. She threw her apron over her head and ran to the back of the diner, grabbing her backpack off of the hook and putting the apron in its place. “Don’t forget to get that arm of yours checked out today, that cut is one of the nastiest I have seen.” 

“Okay Aunt Indra, I won’t.” Lexa said to the woman before giving her a quick hug and rushing out of the diner. She didn’t want to tell her that she had just spent the money that she was going to use for her visit to the local urgent care center on a stranger’s breakfast. She would just have to go without and hope that the cut was not nearly as bad as it seemed to be.  
***  
The old man made his way up to his one bedroom apartment and shifted the bag full of food and the drink carrier in his hands so that he could take his keys out of his pocket and unlock the door.  
He headed for the kitchen and set the food down on the table. “Clarke, honey, are you ready yet?”

The door of the bathroom down the hall opened and a blonde haired teenager walked out. “Yeah grandpa, I just got finished.” She said as she walked over to the couch and began folding up the blankets and sheets that were lying haphazardly across it.

The old man shook his head sadly and turned to look at the fridge. Every available surface was covered by pictures and papers, all showing his granddaughter’s successes in one way or another. She deserves so much more than I can give her. He thought as his eyes landed on an honor roll certificate that Clarke had received a week prior. 

Clarke came up behind him and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll be home after school.” 

“I thought that you had a date tonight.” 

Clarke’s face dropped. “I did, or I do. I think I’m going to have to cancel.” 

“Why? It’s been all you’ve been talking about for the last week and a half.” 

“I know, but I don’t have anything to wear. The fire, it…” She stopped and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat at the mention of the event that had not only taken her childhood house, but the lives of both of her parents as well. Her grandpa moved so that he was facing her and pulled out his wallet before handing her the money that he had been planning on using for breakfast that morning. “Oh Grandpa, I can’t take that. I’m sure you need it more than I do.” 

The old man shook his head. “I don’t, and even if I did, I would figure out some other way to pay for it. Take the money, it’s not much but I’m sure you will find make it work.” 

Clarke wrapped her arms around her grandpa’s waist and hugged him tightly. 

“Thank you! But I really have to go.”

“Hold on for a second. You’ve been through a lot in the last year, and you deserve nothing but the best. If this girl doesn’t have a kind heart, promise me you will not give her the time of day.

“I won’t grandpa, don’t worry. Thanks for breakfast, I’ll see you tonight.” With that, she grabbed a sandwich out of the bag and the hot chocolate from the table and hurried out the door.  
***  
Ten hours later…  
Clarke stood looking at her reflection in the glass window of Arkadia, an old school Italian restaurant, complete with checkered table cloths and candles in the center of every table. Her hair hung around her face in loose ringlets that landed just past her shoulders and covered the back of her red dress, which was the product of her after school trip to Goodwill. 

She had spent the entire day worried that she wouldn't be able to find the perfect outfit, but all of her fears had been quenched the second that she stepped through the automatic sliding doors of the store. The dress had been on display and was the first thing that she had seen, and by some seemingly impossible coincidence, it was her size and fell well within her miniscule budget. 

Another reflection appeared in the window and Clarke turned to see her date approaching and fidgeting with her longsleeve clad forearm. She stopped as soon as she saw that Clarke was watching her. “H-hey Clarke.” She said, her nerves causing her voice to waver. 

Clarke smiled in response to her jittery state. “Are you ready to eat?” 

She nodded furiously and Clarke couldn’t help but let out a little giggle. Lexa looked at the ground and ran to open the door for her. Clarke gave her a small curtsey for the act of chivalry and walked inside, pretending that she didn’t hear Lexa mumble “Get it together Lex, you’re gonna ruin it,” under her breath behind. 

The meal went smoothly. It only took Lexa until after their drinks were ordered to relax, and as soon as she did, the two of them fell into an easy conversation. They discussed the teachers they hated, the ones that they loved, and how, despite their overly cocky attitude, the football team was the worst in the state. 

Throughout the course of the night, Clarke noticed Lexa messing with her arm every chance she got and flinching slightly every time she did so. She wanted to bring it up, but chose to hang onto the thought until after the bill was paid and the two were walking quietly side by side down the street.

Clarke brushed her hand up against the back of Lexa’s, silently asking her to take it, which, after hastily wiping her own on her jeans; she did. Lexa felt Clarke gently squeeze her hand and she glanced over at her. “Can I ask why you keep touching your arm every ten seconds?” Her tone was soft and genuine, and contained no trace of malice.

Without even thinking about it, Lexa lifted her free hand and touched her forearm, only to stop a second later when Clarke shot her a smirk. Lexa blushed lightly and rolled up her sleeve, revealing a blood covered bandage. “I-I was supposed to get it looked at today, but I-uh used the money I needed for it for something else.” The last half of the sentence was said in a whisper. She was not fond of discussing her family’s financial hardships, but there was something in the way that Clarke looked at her that told Lexa that she was no stranger to her situation. 

Instead of asking any further questions, Clarke turned around and pulled her back in the opposite direction. “I thought you lived back there,” she said, motioning behind herself, but not making any moves to stop Clarke. 

“I do, but I’m going to take a look at that before we go.” 

Lexa looked over at her and saw a determined look on her face. “Wait, really? Are you sure?”  
“Of course. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” Lexa didn’t protest and instead allowed herself to be dragged to their destination by her date. 

The two picked up their conversation from earlier, only this time, they discussed how the clique system that divided the school was so stereotypical that it was almost comical. Five minutes later, Clarke walked into a park and brought them to a stop in front of a bench. She let go of Lexa’s hand motioned for her to sit to take a seat, and after a brief moment of hesitation, she did what she was told. Lexa watched as Clarke took her purse off of her shoulder and began digging around inside it. A second later, a broad smile crossed the blonde’s lips.There was a change in her posture, and a confidence of sorts flooded through her body. Clarke sat down beside Lexa and removed an old and warn first-aid kit. Lexa could tell from the look in Clarke’s eyes that this was far from the first time that she had done something like this. “Can you take off the bandage for me?” Clarke asked, voice taking on an authoritative, yet still sweet tone. 

Lexa nodded and began carefully removing the now completely soaked through piece of goz. She flinched as some of it stuck on her sensitive skin. Clarke had busied herself by opening the kit and taking out everything that she thought might be necessary to care for Lexa’s wound. In the process, a small picture fell from the kit. Lexa picked it up and her eyes widened in surprise. It showed Clarke standing in front of two people that had to have been her parents, given the uncanny resemblance. 

“My mom is… was a doctor.” Clarke said after looking up from what she was doing and seeing the picture in Lexa’s hand, causing the girl to jump from Clarke’s unexpected attention. “She loved it and she was actually pretty well known in the medical world. There was almost nothing that she wasn’t able to fix when it came to her patients.” She explained with a sad smile. 

Lexa put a hesitant hand on her shoulder, wanting to provide the comfort that Clarke clearly needed, but not wanting to cross any lines on their first date. After a second, Clarke swallowed and rubbed a stray tear from her eye. “Sorry about that. I just haven’t opened this kit in a while and everything is still,” she paused and let out a small, throaty cough, “A little fresh.” 

Lexa nodded. “I get it, my mom died when I was born, and I lost my dad five years ago. Even now, it’s still hard more often than it is easy.” 

Clarke looked at her with surprised evident in her eyes. She had grown up around Lexa, but their paths hadn’t really crossed until six months ago. Until just then, she had no idea the other girl had suffered such a loss. Lexa could see that Clarke had questions, and decided to just rip off the bandaid. “When I was five, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He went through a year and a half of chemo before going into remission, which, according to his doctors, was a medical miracle.” Lexa took a deep breath before continuing. “We had a few good years. He saw me start school and witnessed my first crush, but a week after I turned thirteen, we found out that the cancer was back and far worse than it had been to begin with. He only lasted a month after that.” Lexa looked away and bit into the side of her cheek. 

Clarke reached out and grabbed her hand. She recognized the pain in Lexa’s eyes and knew that it was mirrored in hers. “My parents died in a house fire eight months ago. I was spending the night at a friend’s house and preparing for a physics exam. My grandpa called at midnight to tell me the news. I’ve been living with him ever since.” 

Lexa moved her gaze up to hers and they shared a look of understanding. Clarke cleared her throat. “So, about that cut, can I see it?” Lexa nodded and held up her arm so that it was more visible to the blonde. Shock flew across her features. “Damn Lex, that’s gnarly. I’m going to have to stitch it. Is that okay with you?”

Lexa raised her eyebrows simultaneously in surprise. “You can do that?” 

Clarke smiled. “Yes ma’am.”

“Wow, um, okay.” Lexa responded. 

“Some girls play with tea sets and dolls, others practice sutures on anything they can find.” Clarke said with a smirk that only lasted a second before being replaced with a frown. 

“What’s wrong Clarke?” Lexa asked, more than a little afraid of what that look could mean.” 

“I just realized that I don’t have anything major to numb the pain, just a little bit of lidocaine spray. This is going to hurt a fair amount.” 

Lexa let out a sigh of relief. “Is that all? I’ve been walking around with an open wound for a full twenty-four hours, I can handle a little pain Clarke.” Lexa could tell that Clarke was still unsure. “Trust me, I won’t even shed a single tear.” 

***  
Twenty minutes later, Lexa and Clarke were once again walking hand in hand in the direction of her grandpa’s apartment. “You are an artist with stitches, you know that right? I’ve had a more than a few sets in my time, and they never came out as straight as these ones did.” 

Clarke blushed. “I’m alright.” 

“Alright? You are fantastic! You could suture the cuts of famous people.” Clarke playfully slapped her arm. “No I’m serious. I bet Zac Efron would love having someone with skills like yours to fix his booboos.” 

“Yeah sure.” Clarke said jokingly before jumping into an explanation of why she thought that high school p.e. was a waste of precious learning time, doing her best to hid the blush that had sprung to her cheeks after Lexa’s compliment.

All too soon, the two ended up outside of Clarke’s apartment. “I had a good time tonight.” She said releasing Lexa’s hand and turning to face her. 

“I’m glad.” She said with a warm smile. She had been worried about how the night would turn out when she had seen tears in Clarke’s eyes back at the park. 

Clarke stood on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on Lexa’s cheek. “I’ve got to get inside, but I really like you Lexa, and I’d like to do this again… If that is okay with you.” 

Lexa was still reeling from the kiss and it took far longer than it should have for Clarke’s words to make sense in her mind. “What? Oh yeah, of course. I’ll call you.” She said, a red hot blush filling her cheeks. 

Clarke gave her a bright smile. “Goodnight Lexa.” She said as she opened the door. 

“Lexa?” An old man’s voice said from inside the apartment. 

Lexa’s eyes widened in recognition when she saw the man from the diner step into the doorway. “Hello sir.” The nerves from earlier that night returned in full force. 

“I had no idea that it would be you that was taking my granddaughter out tonight.” 

Clarke, who had been looking back and forth between her grandpa and Lexa spoke up. “You two know each other?” 

“Kind of, he…” Lexa was cut off by Clarke’s excited grandpa. 

“This wonderful girl right here is the reason that you have on that dress that you’re wearing my dear.” 

Clarke scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. “What do you mean?” 

“The money I gave you for that dress was supposed to pay for breakfast. Lexa works at the diner and kindly paid for our meal.” 

Realization flowed through Clarke’s mind. “You couldn’t afford get your arm looked at because you paid for our breakfast?” 

Lexa thought it over for a second and nodded slowly as everything came together in her head. “Yes.” 

The old man turned to Clarke and grinned. “Remember what I told you this morning, about wanting you to end up with a someone with a kind heart? This is the one that I was secretly hoping it would be.” Clarke’s mouth fell open in shock. Lexa cleared his throat awkwardly and the old man decided to drop the idea for the moment and moved onto another topic. “I trust that you will treat her with nothing but respect?”

Lexa opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. She opted to nod instead. “Good.” Clarke looked at her grandpa, silently telling him to give them a minute alone. He got the message and stepped inside. 

“Sorry about that, he’s obsessed with the idea of fate.” 

Lexa shrugged. “I don’t mind. Your grandpa seems like a really good guy. A little cooky, but good” 

Clarke smiled and once again stood on her tiptoes, this time though, she pecked Lexa on the lips. “Goodnight Lexa.” She said in a rush and then moved inside the apartment, leaving Lexa dazed on the patio.

**Author's Note:**

> Clexa happy endings are very important to me, especially after last week. If you enjoyed it, please comment and leave a kudos. If you want to see more stories from me, let me know. If you have a tumblr, come say hi @rosewilliams1736  
> Until Next Time!  
> ~RoseWilliams15  
> P.S. Please ignore any and all errors


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